The Ministry Home Care Plus in Marshfield, offers a wide variety of items to help with home care on Tuesday, July 30, 2013. / MEGAN MCCORMICK/GANNENT CENTRAL WISCONSIN MEDIA

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With Ministry Saint Joseph’s Hospital serving thousands of central, western and northern Wisconsin patients, Marshfield was an ideal place for the health system’s home care branch to build a home medical equipment store in 2012.

Ministry respiratory therapy and home medical equipment manager Cindy Linzmeier said customers might be surprised by the variety of products and services offered through the Home Medical Specialty Store.

Question: What does your business do?

Answer: “The retail store offers specialty and hard-to-find home medical equipment like wheelchairs, walkers, specialty beds, traction devices and items to assist with activities of daily living. Some items are not covered by customers’ insurance, while some customers find it easier to or less expensive to purchase home medical equipment on their own. The store also offers respiratory equipment, including CPAPs and ventilators, and respiratory therapy services.”

Q: Why was a home medical equipment store needed in Marshfield?

A: “We do a lot of work with Saint Joseph’s Hospital as a referral sources, and we wanted to be closer to our service providers. It makes it that much faster for customers to come to the store or for us to go to their homes and set up the equipment.”

Before the store opened, Linzmeier said customers and employees traveled to and from the Stevens Point Home Medical Specialty Store for home medical equipment and respiratory services. The Marshfield store extends Ministry Home Care’s reach to western Wisconsin.

“People can come here, look at what we have and try it out,” Linzmeier added.

Q: How does the store work with other Ministry Home Care service providers?

A: “Right next door is Ministry Home Care Plus and the infusion service line. We work with them a lot and have a lot of the same patients. Private duty nurses care for members who need help with things around the house, and some of them need respiratory therapy at home. We also provide equipment for House of the Dove.”

Q: What might people be surprised to learn about the store?

A: “Probably the broad scope of items we can get our hands on or that exist. We have (physical therapy) items to help seniors in day-to-day living like cooking and eating. We have dressing sticks, elastic shoelaces and Handybars you can put in your vehicle to help you get out.”

The store also offers products to assist nursing mothers.

Q: Does Ministry Home Care Plus have any plans to build more Home Medical Specialty Stores?

A: “We are potentially opening a store in Wausau, but we don’t have a time line for that yet. A Ministry Home Care office will be opening in Wausau in spring 2014.”

Private duty nursing, physical and occupational therapy and other in-home services will be offered through the facility.